Crystal, Your tree looks entirely normal to me. The worn eaten bud will probably not recover, but apples send out lots of new growth from year to year. I don't think you'll have problems finding suitable growth for your espalier. You can always mix up a small bottle of insecticide to protect your new foliage if its a problem.

I had done some reading up on humane euthanizing of fish several months in the past (had a koi that I inherited that displayed a sudden change in disposition - it was dead within a week of unknown ailment before I had to follow through with a method). I've found several options which all have their pros & cons, so choose which would be most agreeable with you - cause not all of them are agreeable to everyone. Since I found the thread after-the-fact, maybe the information can help out someone else in the future. Clove Oil: I've read that quarantining the fish and then dosing the water with some clove oil can be a quick and apparently painless way to send the fish to a better place. It usually doesn't mix too readily with water since it is an oil, but I've read that mixing it with some vodka beforehand makes adding the oil much easier than without. I have read that some people have seen their fish react to the oil (frantic movement, twitching, etc), but that they succumbed fairly quickly - but cases like this were not that common. Freezer: Usually, cold weather puts a fish into hibernation because the change in temperature is a gradual process that the fish has time to adapt to and be ready for. When you put them in the freezer, the change in temperature is abrupt and unexpected - which "shocks" the fish and effectively causes it to shut down (I'm not explaining this as well as I've read, FYI). The fish doesn't die immediately, but it's said that it doesn't feel any pain or discomfort during the ordeal. Blunt-force trauma: This is the task that your friend was talking about - using a rock, or a hammer, or some type of club to crush the fish's skull and destroy the brain. This can be an extremely quick way for the fish to go, but it can also be fairly unsettling to those with weak constitutions ("This'll hurt me more than it'll hurt you" kind of way). If you are capable of doing the deed in one hit then it can be very humane cause the fish would be dead practically instantly - even though the fish's body might not know it yet (which can be unsettling to the squeamish). If I remember right, the optimal strike-point is on the crown of the head, just behind the eyes. "Executioner" style: Bar-none, the . . . messiest . . . way to accomplish the job. You better have a strong constitution cause this is exactly what it sounds like - you assume the role of executioner and decapitate the fish just behind the gill flaps using a heavy knife, an axe, or some other sharp implement that can do the job *in one strike*. Using more than one strike is just cruel, so be sure that you can do the job before you even attempt it, and also be sure that your hand-eye coordination is up to the task so that you don't miss. Obviously, this style would work best on goldfish and smaller-sized koi - I personally would hesitate to use this on a large (9"+) koi. I've had to do this deed twice so far, and each time I chose the executioner style because I was forced to use the quickest means necessary in both cases. The first time, I found a 6" goldfish lying on it's side on the water's surface - with it's stomach ripped open and the guts trailing behind it in the water (this was in the middle of the day - the fish had looked fine less than a 1/2-hour earlier). I don't know how it had happened, but the fish was still alive so I did the deed as fast as I could (using a hand axe). The second time, I found a couple goldfish in the skimmer net trapped with a snapping turtle. One of the fish was already dead and partially eaten, another fish had been roughed up and the fins were shredded, but she was otherwise unhurt and still alive (The shredded fins have since grown back and she's still alive and well). The third fish was still alive, but the front of it's face had been bitten clean off, leaving only a pair of eyes. So again I had to do the deed in the quickest means necessary. Now, I'm not a bleeding-heart vegan animal-rights kind of guy - I'll dispatch varmints and destructive pests and sleep just fine afterwards - but it was unnerving having to take that kind of direct action with a fish. I'm sure there are other options available - there is an anesthetic called Finquel that I've heard works extremely well for humanely euthanizing a fish - but the above were the most common options that I encountered.

You might go out after dark or very early in the morning and check your tree with a good flashlight. Your culprit may have already left if it was a swallowtail butterfly larva. I had some roses that were being eaten alive one year. There were no pests visible during the day but at night I found lots of adult june bug beetles eating them.

I came home to find a package at the door. Oh, the wonders to behold! first I will list Hosannahs part of the swap! A bag of Woofles A set of Greenie Dog bones A grooming glove, (she's in ecstacy!) A plush Flamingo bird toy with rope legs to pull and it Squeeks! She just loves it The first big thing I took out was a metal spotted dog door/wall hanging with a "newspaper" in mouth with the words, "Wipe your paws. " on it. A bottle of Cappuchino Toddy (serves 6) Wanna bet? heh heh Row Marker with a pack of Suttons White Lobelia tucked in the top. A bag with a note and pen caddy with pictures of german shepherd on the outside. the note paper has paw prints and the pen has german shepherd pictures on it. I will prize that. Hosannah looks just like the pictures! There was a German shepherd pencil 10 green tea bags (5 plain, 5 red) I just discovered green tea is. I love it, plus a packet of flavored Hot Chocolate. AND a geranium Cantabriense Biokovo! I'm still gloating over that one and I did not have one of those! I don't know how I can thank you, Mamabirrd. This was a wonderful surprise for me and Hosannah, who is now flipping her new bird up in the air after downing half of the Woofies. One of the green bones she hid under a sofa cushion. I guess thats for later on! Thank you again, Dawn This was the best ever! Doris